PSM central committee member Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj today brought some 20 stateless persons, born and bred in Malaysia but denied their right to an identification card, to meet the Institutional Reforms Committee (IRC).

“We are asking the government enact a new SOP to approve citizenship for any children born in Malaysia, to a Malaysian father who can be identified through records like a birth certificate or DNA test.

“On top of that, the SOP needs to be amended so that all children who have been adopted for more than five years by a Malaysian family can also get citizenships,” he told reporters at Ilham Tower today. Read more →

Chief Justice Raus Sharif however allows them to become friends of the court in landmark case on whether Muslim children born out of wedlock can be given the surname of a person acknowledging himself as the father.

Picture drawn from Free Malaysia Today

PUTRAJAYA: Twenty couples and a single parent have failed to become parties in a Federal Court appeal that will decide whether a Muslim child conceived out of wedlock can take his or her father’s surname instead of “Abdullah”.

However, a five-court bench led by Chief Justice Raus Sharif allowed them to become amicus curiae (friend of the court) to assist parties in the appeal which will be heard on Feb 7.

Raus said the appeal came by way of judicial review and it was not fair for the applicants to be made interveners.

“There are various steps to follow. If we allow it, it will be side-stepping the procedures,” he said.

Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, who appeared for the National Registration Department (NRD), its director-general and the government, was not invited to make his submission.

Lawyer Azahar Azizan Harun, who represented the applicants, later told reporters he would appear as a friend of the court.

Interveners appear as parties to the appeal and, as such, can make submissions as of right. Those with “friend of the court” status only have the privilege of addressing the court at the invitation of the bench.

Adam is now 14, but the NRD’s policy of having illegitimate Muslim children bear the ‘bin Abdullah’ patronym is hampering him from getting a MyKad. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 — Adam* is like any other child in Malaysia, except the National Registration Department (NRD) wants him to ditch his father’s name and use “bin Abdullah”, a patronym that is virtually a badge of shame worn by illegitimate Muslim children.

Muslim parents Rahman* and Aisyah* married in Selangor and gave birth to Adam in the same state in 2004. Adam was issued a birth certificate and a MyKid that carried Rahman’s name with no questions asked by the NRD then.

Prepared to see their newborn child registered with “bin Abdullah” as he was born less than six months into their marriage, they were surprised and thought the department made an exception by accepting Rahman as the father’s name. Read more →

PETALING JAYA: The National Registration Department (NRD) will now be able to better address public needs through new powers under the amended Births and Deaths Registration Act (Act 299).

Among key changes made to Act 299 were to make it easier to register newborns, relaxing the time frame for registering births and deaths, plus obtaining a presumed death certificate in the case a body could not be found.

“Based on thorough analysis of the records of these three laws, they were never amended since their implementation,” said the NRD, referring to Act 299 and the corresponding Registration of Births and Deaths Ordinances that applied in Sabah and Sarawak.

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court will decide whether the National Registration Department (NRD) can exclude Muslim children who were born out of wedlock from bearing their father’s surname instead of “Abdullah”.

This follows the decision of a three-man bench led by Chief Justice Raus Sharif today to allow leave to appeal the application by Putrajaya.

Lawyer K Shanmuga, who is appearing for a Muslim couple and their son, had objected to the leave application, saying Section 13 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 (BDRA) applies to all illegitimate children, irrespective of race or religion.

However, Raus who sat with justices Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and Aziah Ali, said the apex court would decide on the matter.

The three questions to be answered by the bench during the appeal are: Read more →

Judgment says the NRD director-general had overstepped his powers in relying on a 1981 fatwa. Pic drawn from FMT News.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — The Court of Appeal threw out today the National Registration Department’s (NRD) application to stay the court’s ruling that granted a Muslim father the right to replace his illegitimate child’s “bin Abdullah” patronym with his own name.

The father’s lawyer, K. Shanmuga, said, however, that his client did not intend to enforce the appellate court’s ruling pending the Federal Court hearing of the NRD’s application for leave to appeal the decision.

“We are going to wait and see what the Federal Court says,” Shanmuga told Malay Mail Online.

When asked if the NRD should, in any other cases, follow the court ruling that allowed Muslim fathers to give their names to their children conceived outside marriage, the lawyer said it should. Read more →

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Bar says the National Registration Department’s (NRD) decision to continue adding the surname “bin Abdullah” when registering a Muslim child whose parents are not married, is in contempt of court and cannot be condoned.

In a statement today, Bar president George Varughese noted that the government had filed an appeal against the Court of Appeal decision, adding that this was within its rights.

“However, until and unless there is an order for a stay of execution of that decision and/or the decision is reversed by the Federal Court, it is incumbent on all parties to respect and comply with the decision,” he said.

On July 25, the Court of Appeal said the NRD had acted outside its powers when it used the surname “Abdullah” to register a Muslim child born out of wedlock, against the mother’s wish to use the father’s name. Read more →

PETALING JAYA: A family law practitioner today said Parliament would have to amend the Births and Deaths Registration Act (BDRA) if Muslims do not want illegitimate children to carry the surname of their fathers.

However, lawyer Balwant Singh Sidhu said this may prejudice the rights of the natural fathers.

“It will also prejudice the rights of the child as he or she may want to know who the biological father is,” he said.

Balwant said such an amendment may also be challenged as being unconstitutional.

“As the law stands, BDRA imposes a strict statutory duty on the National Registration Department (NRD) to record all deaths and births, legitimate or otherwise, where particulars are available.” Read more →

PERLIS Mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin seems to be permitting (menghalalkan) adultery though his support of the Court of Appeal ruling allowing children conceived out of wedlock to carry their father’s name.

Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria said Malaysia did not need to “go against the flow” when it came to children conceived out of wedlock, as Muslim scholars had decided on the issue a long time ago.

“This is a new opinion that is veering towards permitting adultery (menghalalkan zina). The opinion by the Perlis mufti is akin to permitting adultery,” Harussani said in Kuala Lumpur today.

“I hope these ulama are careful. We have to adhere to long-established opinions.”

Last week, Asri was reported to have supported a unanimous ruling by three-judge Court of Appeal bench that allowed children conceived out of wedlock to carry their father’s name. The ruling has polarised opinion among religious scholars, lawyers and activists. Read more →

KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — Any government agency’s refusal to abide by legal court rulings would damage the rule of law, said lawyers.

Judgment says the NRD director-general had overstepped his powers in relying on a 1981 fatwa. Pic drawn from FMT News.

The legal practitioners all disapproved of the National Registration Department’s (NRD) rebuff of a decision allowing illegitimate Muslim children to bear their biological fathers’ names, saying this was blatantly contemptuous of the Court of Appeal.

Short of securing a stay of the ruling, they insist the agency must observe the appellate court’s decision despite contesting the outcome.

“The NRD’s decision to disregard the decision of the CoA is illegal and in contempt. There is no justifiable excuse as to why the decision of the CoA is not immediately adhered to,” Datuk Geethan Ram Vincent told Malay Mail Online when contacted. Read more →

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